Worked at:
- Wanganui Telegraph Office: Telegram Boy, from Sep 1962
- Radio Training School: Trainee Radio Operator, from Mar 1962
- Wellington Radio: Radio Operator, 16 Dec 1963 – 30 Sep 1993 (station closed 30 Sep)
- Maritime Operations Centre, Wellington: Radio Operator, Feb 1995 – Dec 2017 (retirement)
Peter became a Silent Key on 26 September 2023, at age 77.
Service:
Post Office and Telecom: 31 years
Kordia Ltd: 22 years
Incidents that occurred during Peter’s years at Wellington Radio
- Fijian trader Tuvalu ran aground near Glenburn Station, Wairarapa Coast, Jan 1967
- TEV Wahine sank in Wellington Harbour, 10 Apr 1968
- MV Maranui sank off Mercury Island, 13 Jun 1968
- SS Gothic caught fire in the Pacific, 2 Aug 1968
- MV Pacific Charger ran aground at Baring Head, 21 May 1981
- Cruise ship Mikhail Lermontov sank at Port Gore after being steered onto rocks by a NZ pilot, 16 Feb 1986
- Yacht Rose-Noelle capsized and drifted up East Coast of North Island and ended up on Great Barrier Island. 1 June 1989 to 30 Sep 1989
Peter Baird, acting manager of Wellington Radio ZLW, at the 500kHz desk on closing day, 30 September 1993. Evening Post photo
Peter Baird at the Maritime Operations Centre – Taupo Radio, Nov 2017
Peter, or ‘Mr Baird’ as we know him, is about to retire in a couple of weeks after 50 years service to SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea) on marine radio. For over 50 years he has been doing shiftwork, including 12-hour day and 12-hour night shifts. He has worked Christmas Days, New Years Eves, missed family birthdays and get togethers etc. The life of a shift workerk isn’t for everyone. Peter probably has one of the biggest collections of Morse keys in New Zealand – around 100 and counting! And this is his second collection, as a house fire wiped out his first collection, so he had to start again.” Words and photo: Tony Graham
Farewell get-together in honour of radio operators Peter Baird, Allan Burgess and James Lamb, all leaving the Maritime Operations Centre / Taupo Maritime Radio ZLM. L-R: Tony Graham (ZLB, ZLC, ZLD, currently ZLM), James Lamb (RNZAF, ZLM), Peter Baird (ZLW, ZLM), Allan Burgess (ZLX, ZLC, ZLQ, ZLW, ZLM), Graham Turner (ZLW, ZLC, retired manager of ZLM), Brendan Comerford (ZLW, ZLC, current manager of ZLM). Photo courtesy Tony Graham
